Former President , Christian Association of Nigeria , Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie , has asked the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari why life is becoming harder for Nigerians after it promised them change.
According to the Punch, the former Catholic Archbishop of Lagos asked the question in a piece entitled, The Truth and Nothing But the Truth. Okogie said 2018 was just a few days away but in the horizon of Nigerian politicians , it seemed 2019 would come before 2018.
He said by their speeches , conduct and posture, "even the blind is able to see that preparations for the 2019 elections are already in top gear". The outspoken cleric, however, decried that in utter disregard to internal party democracy , candidates and sole candidates were already being endorsed , a development he pointed out did not portray politicians in good light.
"With very few exceptions , they are powermongers pretending to be leaders , parasites posturing as benefactors” he stated. Okogie said,“Endemic to our political class is an addiction to power, a chronic deficiency of desire to serve. It is becoming clearer that, for our politicians, being in power takes precedence over service to the people.
In another sad reminder that they care less for the people , they are not engaged in discussions on how to alleviate the suffering of the masses, suffering visited on the people by the incompetent leadership of this country. "Nigerian politicians benefit from a system that places the citizen at a disadvantage. They treat the people with contempt. But we the people too must be responsible for our country. If the political class is out to deceive the people, we must put some questions to our politicians . We must insist on credible answers to a number of pertinent questions.
"What, for example , happened to all the lofty promises made during the campaign season that preceded the 2015 elections? Why are our politicians unwilling to be accountable? Why is transparency in government a taboo ? Did they not promise to change this country into a paradise ? Why is it , then, that life is getting even harder for the average Nigerian ? Why is the level of insecurity so high that people are abducted even from their homes ? Why has our country's leadership failed to create an environment for investments to thrive ?”
The cardinal stressed that it was “immoral and reprehensible ” that there was a glaring absence of internal democracy in the country ’s political parties, while the people seemed not to have got over “the flu of sole candidacy.”
Punch